Etawah / Imdadkhani Gharana

No one will dispute that today Sitar is one of the most versatile and popular instruments. Over the period of its evolution, it has become a very mature instrument and is capable of expressing the raga form completely without any lose even of the finest shade of the emotional expression. Various stages through which a rag is presented on the Sitar like Alap, Jod, Gat, Toda-s, Tan-s and Jhala leave no stage of development of the raga untreated. It has now become a most mature, self— contained and complete instrument.

SITAR – PHYSICAL EVOLUTION

Theories relating to origin

1 . ‘Sehtar’ was the instrument brought by Yemannudin Abdul Hasan or Amir Khusrow from Iran. ‘She’ meaning three and ‘Sehtar’ meaning an instrument with three stings. According to this theory, the Iranian ‘Sehtar’ was modified to suit Indian musical requirements and the Sitar was thus invented 13th Century.

2. According to some Scholars, Sitar was the modified version of an Iranian plucking instrument called ‘Tri-tantri Veena’, which was very popular in ancient times. Some Scholars believe that this change was brought about by Amir Khusro – while some others maintain that it was somebody other than Amir Khusro, since this modification was brought about much later than Amir Khusro’s time.

3. According to recent findings, Sitar was invented by Sadarang’s brother, Fakir Khusro Khan who lived in the 18th Century

Well—known Scholars and musicologists have raised several doubts about the theory that Amir Khusro invented the Sitar

They argue that there is no reference to Sitar in any of the well known and acknowledged treatises until 18th Century. In fact, Sitar does not appear in any of the paintings, sculptures, etc. pertaining to period prior to 18th Century. Amongst the names of luminaries in Akbar’s darbar. We do not find any mention of Sitar or it’s exponents. It is therefore surmised that Sitar could not have been invented prior to 18th Century.

Some Scholars maintain that Sitar cannot be a modification of Iranian “Sehtar” as the two instruments are completely different in character, shape, size and technique of playing. It is difficult therefore to accept the theory that Sitar was a modified version of the Iranian “Sehtar”.

Even when we trace the family tree of present Sitar players, we are factually unable to go backwards in history beyond 200 to 250 years. In view of the above, it is logical to accept the theory that Sitar is a relatively recent invention i.e. during the span of 18th Century and it could well be that Khusro Khan, brother of Sadarang who lived during this period, was the inventor.

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENTS
The evolution in the physical form of Sitar relates to the shape, size, material used for making the Sitar, number of strings used, methods of tuning, number of frets etc.

It is believed that until the later part of the 19th Century, the instrument was totally made of wood. In some regions, Sitars made of papermache were also used.

However, later on dried pumpkin was used to make the tumba or the resonator. This enhanced and sweetened the resonance of the instrument. Addition of one more resonator at the upper end of the instrument also facilitated the amplification of sound.

Originally, the Sitar apparently had three strings. They were tuned to ‘Ma’ ‘Sa’ and ‘Sa’ or ‘Ma’, ‘Sa’, ‘Pa’. Later on, two more strings were added which were tuned to ‘Sa’ and the higher octave ‘Sa’. During the second half of the 18th Century, two more strings were added and the complete 7 strings tuning was obtained in the order of Ma, Sa, Sa, Pa, Pa (kharaj), Sa and Sa (one octave higher). By the beginning of 20th Century, eleven to thirteen additional sympathetic or ‘tarab’ strings were introduced. These were placed underneath the main strings in a parallel to the main strings, over a small, flat bridge, to be tuned to correspond with various notes of the rag being performed. The tarab strings vibrate in tune with the vibrations of the notes played on the main strings, resultantly in an enriched sound.

Until the 19th Century, two types of fret arrangements were in vogue. Sitar with ‘Achala-that’, or arrangement which did not require the movements of frets, had 24 frets tuned to half steps from ‘tivra madhyam’ of the lower octave to the ‘madhyam’ of the upper octave. ‘Chala-that’ (requiring movement of frets) had 17 frets. By the end of the 19th Century, the number of frets was increased to 20 on the ‘Chala-that’ Sitar. The frets corresponding to ‘Komal Ni’ in both the lower and middle octaves as well as the fret corresponding to ‘Komal Ga’ in the middle octave were added.

Thus, we see that the physical evolution of Sitar was influenced by several factors, such as material used, arrangement of strings, number of tumbas used and the number of frets. Thus, the Sitar in it’s present form is a highly developed and versatile instrument.

STYLISTIC EVOLUTION
After having traced the physical evolution of Sitar, we would now refer to the various stages through which the styles of Sitar playing have been developed.

It appears that initially, Sitar was used as an accompanying instrument, to be played during Qawali performances. The left hand rested on a particular note on which a musical phrase had ended while the right hand played bols like dirdir, dara dara etc., in quick succession, with a view to fill the gaps between the melodic phrases sung by the performing musician. This style was known as ‘Poorak baj’.

Over the years, Sitar emerged a solo instrument and hence amorphous gates were introduced in it’s repertoire. Gradually, pakhawaj bol-s were incorporated in Sitar playing. The melody was executed by left hand while the right hand played the ‘bols’ weaving rhythmic patterns.

Sill later, small phrases known as ‘Fikre’ were introduced to support the improvisation of pre-composed gats. Thus, the role played by the left hand became slightly more significant and pronounced though it still remained subsidiary to that of the right hand.

Gradually, small meend-s were introduced to embellish the notes and as result, the prominence of the left hand was further elevated. The “alap” phrases were of simple nature devoid of any ornamental elements and major melodic movements were executed. During this period, it is believed that the great masters of Sarasvati Veena or Been would not teach this instrument to anybody outside their family. It is further believed that with a view to tech students outside family, Surbahar could have been invented as modified version of Sitar. This instrument incorporates the elements of both the Veena / Been and the Sitar. It is larger in size when compared to Sitar only the pitch is much lower.

Next stage of development was the introduction of durt gat-s in the faster tempo. All Masit-khani gat-s are played in slow tempo but non vice-versa. Similarly all Raza-Khani gat-s are played in faster tempo but the reverse is not true. During Mohamnd Shah Rangile’s time, a lot of ‘Bandish ki Tumris’ were composed. These were sung in Madhyalaya essentially to accompany Kathak dance. These composition (according to one theory) were adopted to be played on Sitar and thus was established the origin of Razakhani gat-s in ragas like Khamaj, Kafi, Pilu, Zila etc. Today, however, any fast gat played in Tritaal is called Raza-khani, which is not necessarily a correct nomenclature.

The next stage represented a judicious presentation of alap, jod, vilambit and drut gats and jhala. The raga was now projected completely through all these stages and Sitar achieved a status very near to vocal music performances.

GHARANA TRADITION
It is believe that the tradition of gharana system in vocal music is about 300 years old and is essentially related to khayal singing – the earlier classification for Drupad style being in terms of bani-s (Gauhar bani, Nauhar bani etc.) and still earlier in terms of different mat-s (Human mat, Barat mat etc.). In instrumental music, we find that the various styles rendered through different categories of instruments are not classified in terms distinct gharana-s though we do come across specific names of gharana in Tabla playing such as Delhi, Banaras, Lucknow, Ajrada etc. With special reference to Sitar as well, we do come across different styles being designated with specific gharana nomenclature and could be summarised as follows.

Etawah (also called Imdamkhani, or more recently Vilayat Khani) gharana, Maihar gharana, Senia gharana, Jaipur – Sitar beenkar gharana, Vishnupur gharana, Lucknow gharana etc.

With this background and before we analyse the special features of Etawah – Imdad Khani or Vilayat Khani gharana, it would be useful to define a gharana in all its dimensions. This would help to clarify issues like

1) What is gharana? and
2) What are its distinguishing feature?

Literally translated, a gharana essentially means a family. The style of a gharana means the style initiated and evolved by a particular family of musicians. By and large a gharana usually known by the name of the city / town in which the initiating musician resided. E.g. Agra, Gwalior, Patiala, Kirana etc. on the other hand when a particular musician adds an outstanding new dimension to a particular style of vocal or instrumental music his gharana would be known by his name. E.g. Alladiya Khan gharana, Imdadkhani gharana or Pandit Ravishankarji’s style of sitar playing etc.

In essence, a gharana is established through the medium of specialization. A musical performance can be viewed through two distinct perspectives i.e. the ‘matter’ of music or ‘babat’ or what you play. The second perspective is the ‘manner’ of playing i.e. ‘tarika’ or how to play. Whilst various gharana-s have common denominators in the area of the ‘matter’ covering the raga form, the technique utilised for expressing the rage form would differ from gharana to gharana, resulting into specialization referred to earlier. There could be various facets of specialization and we may briefly refer to these as follows.

The technique of voice production developed by different gharana-s could be the first facet of specialization. As vocalists of Patiala gharana sing with open and full throated voices while musicians of Kirana gharana use a softer and controlled voice production technique. Agra and Jaipur Sehswan and Gwalior once again have their own special quality of voice production. A supplementary of specialization in suing the technique of voice production could be the manner in which the fluidity and the ornamental phrases like Murki-s etc. are relied upon by the performing musicians belonging to different gharana-s. These remarks are no doubt related to vocal music tradtions of gharanas but the same remarks with slight modifications, can be applied to instrumental music forms as well. Major styles of Sitar playing definitely express their own and individual approach, resulting into specialised renditions.

Emotional content of a presentation could be the second form of specialization. The emotional content or undercurrent of a particular rasa has also been noticed to establish certain amount of specialization to distinguish one gharana from the other. Kirana is basically ‘Bhakti’ or ‘Shanta’ rasa oriented, Patiala could be ‘Shringar’ rasa based, Agra could be ‘vira’ rasa based and so on. It would not be appropriate to say that a gharana projects only basic rasa – in fact, the rendition is not oriented only to a particular rasa and utilises the elements of several rasa-s while emphasizing one basic rasa.

The third dimension is in fact a corollary of the element of the of the emotional content. The importance and therefore the length of different stages of raga presentation i.e. alap, bandish, tan-s etc. could be governed by the undercurrent of the basic rasa that the particular gharana emphasizes. Hence, the alap in Kirana gharana utilises ‘badhat’ or the unfoldment of the raga on a step by step basis and is both lengthy and involved. On the other hand, we note that both in Agra gharana and Patiala gharana the alap form is relatively shorter. Gharana-s like Jaipur, Patiala, Agra etc. give significant importance and emphasis to the portion of a presentation.

Specific raga-s become favourites of different gharana-s depending upon their mood and their inherent laya. This could be the fourth dimension of specialization. Over the period, raga-s like Darbari, Abhogi, etc., are favourites of Kirana gharana musicians while intricate raga-s like Sawani, Goud-Malhar, Nat, etc. , are favoured by the Jaipur gharana musicians. However, I hasten to clarify that this is not a basic or fundamental evaluation. My remarks should be considered in a general manner only.

The fifth dimension of specialization could be the choice of tal-s and their laya. Kirana gharana musicians use tal-s like ‘jhumra’ i.e., a very slow tempo taal. On the other hand Agra gharana uses vilambit ektaal and Jaipur gharana after uses vilambit teental. It would be easily agreed that the choice of tal-s and the laya at which they are played is definitely governed by the general aptitude of the musicians of a particular gharana.

The sixth / final facet of specialization would be the significance of “Sahitya” or the bandish i.e., the composition. Kirana gharana as has already been said, gives greater importance to alap, that is melodic unfoldment. Hence the “sahitya” becomes relatively less important. On the other hand, the bandieh-s of Agra, Gwalior etc. gharana-s are of high literary value and the performers utilise the deeper or inherent meaning of the ‘sahitya’ in their renditions.
The next issue to be considered is the utility and validity of the gharana system or the role that the system should or could play. We have already referred to the specialization which in essence is the foundation of the gharana system. We have also analysed different dimensions of the process of specialisation.

When it is commonly accepted that specialization is not only necessary but highly beneficial to any area of human activity, how can we then question the utility of gharana system in music? A lot of keen and deep introspective thinking and research been invested in the establishment of a gharana through specialization of the rasa or mood, emphasis alap, on tan rendition, the sahitya or literary content, the selection of the raga-s and finally the voice production techniques. It takes two or three generations for all these elements to mature and crystalize and it is truly said that a gharana connot be established in a span of a few years. What is unfortunate however is, that certain negative elements have crept in the gharana system over a period of years, as a result of human frailties resulting into subjective assessments, inability to appreciate the styles of other gharana-s, exploitation for financial gains and finally short-sighted behaviour of noted musicians and so on. The absence of great Ustads in the present times – barring a few celebrities – has also added to the problem. Then of course the easy availability of modern day gadgets like tape-recorders, radio, T.V. etc., have provided easy and economical means to learn, as compared to the discipline that the Shishya has to follow when he learns at the feet of the Guru in the Guru, Shishya Parampara. But then the quality suffers and in reality
has suffered. Reluctance of some of the great musicians to give ‘vidya dan’ without reservations has further added to the problem. Personally, I am a great
supporter of the gharana system, and I would urge that efforts be directed not to destroy or denigrate the system but to remove the negative elements that have crept in the system.

VILAYATKHANI STYLE
We have already clarified earlier, that it is the technique of presentation that results into specialization and as a result into the creation of a style. The stylistic evolution which we have earlier elaborated in detail, presents specific graphic picture . Originally a pause-filler, since the time Sitar achieved the position as a solo instrument, it was Dhrupad based and the rhythmic movements freely used pakhawaj bol-s executed through the ‘mizrab’ of the right hand. Gradually the left hand executing the dignified and rounded movements of the Dhruped ang – devoid of murki-s, developed into quicker and faster movements executing gat-toda – again regulated by the right hand. Still later, on, we notice the influence of the khayal elements with discernible use of murki-s and brisk tan-s which had a definite impact on the style of Sitar playing. The right hand and the left hand which were utilized with equal importance and involvement,
in a later period, witnessed a significantly greater role being played by the left hand – specifically in the alap portion. We could therefore surmise that the stylistic evolution is a progressive development from the Drupad ang based Sitar to a Khayal ang based Sitar. It is however incorrect to believe that any present day style of Sitar playing is completely Drupad based or completely Khayal based.

Therefore, it would be appropriate to say that individual Sitar styles or gharana-s, by and large, utilise techniques of Drupad and or khayal.

The Vilayatkhani style or Vilayatkhani baj is a lucid and methodical amalgamation of the Imdadkhani and Enayetkhani baj, added to which, are the new dimensions introduced by Ustad Vilayat Khan. In our bad, we have all the unique facets of the great Imdad Khan Saheb, the melodious and introspective vision of the saintly Ustad Enayet Khan and of course the great contribution of innovative dimensions of my most respected Ustad Vilayat Khan. No discussion on Imdadkhani or Vilayatkhani baj would be complete without dwelling upon the remarkable contributions made by great Ustads and masters of this gharana viz Ustad Sahabdad Khan Ustad Imdad Khan’s father), Ustad Imdad Khan, Ustad Enayet Khan, his brother Ustad Wahid Khan and the illustrious Ustad Vilayat Khan.

We assume that Imdad Khan Saheb followed in the footsteps of Ustad Sahabdad. “Riyaz” Was the hallmark of Ustad Imdad Khan. Several interesting and touching anecdotes about his meticulous and rigorous riyaz are too well known to be recounted. It is also said that he had perfected a few choice raga-s like Yaman and Puriya – so much so – that it is said that when Ustad Imdad Khan was participating in the music festival, nobody else would opt to play these raga-s.

The stage of evolutionary development that the Sitar had reached during this period, projected a style that was very right hand oriented, though the left hand had certainly started playing a greater role than hitherto. The taan execution had not yet reached a stage of 1 note – 1 mizrab – rather there were many strokes of mizrab used per note. The style of Ustad Imdad Khan – and we have several records of this great master, reflects a highly perfected right hand playing intricate Bol-s executed with sparkling and fantastic clarity and with unbelievable speed !! Whilst the alap was impressive, it was relatively simple and the Khayal type of murki-s were evidently absent. The gat-s were based on masitkhani style and the gat development covered gat-toda-s matching tabla bol patterns.

Tan-s, specially in the drut-gat of razakhani style were executed with pre-dominant use of the right hand i.e. Dirdir type of bol-s executed with the right hand playing 2-3 or even 6 mizrab or strokes for each note. Abundant use of bol-s or mizrabs were evident in the compositions of the drut gat-s. The emphasis was clearly on perfected and polished execution at the phenomenal speed leaving the listener amazed.

To summarise the prominent features of the styles of Ustad Sahabdad Khan and Imdad Khan, we note that the right hand was very prominent and its control and power was used in perfectly executing vilambit gat, gat toda, drut gat, tan, jhala and double jhala. Alap was relatively simple and devoid of Khayal ang murki-s relying more on Dhrupad ang meend-s. These facts are noticed clearly in the Surbahar records of Ustad Imdad Khan.

When we attempt to understand Ustad Inayat Khan’s style, one is immediately struck by the introspective and devotional undercurrent. To the existing Imdad Khani baj, he added a contemplative quality of his own personality and this made his music richer, deeper and meditative. In addition, Ustad Enayat Khan made significant contributions in the area of execution i.e. ‘Tarika’. In the alap, we discern pleasing and deftly executed Khayal type murki-s. On Surbahar we notice elongated meends covering the entire octave. On the Sitar, 3 to 4 note meends were freely used. In the gat-s, we notice swiftly executed Sapat tan-s, using the principle of 1 note – 1 bol. It is believed that Ustad Enayat Khan introduced tihai-s in Sitar performance. It is also believed tghat he introduced and refined tarab-s on Sitar. He introduced several innovative patterns of bol-s. Ustad Enayat Khan’s jhala execution is sombre, meditative and as some great musicians said, takes one to the stage of ‘Samadi’. His Surbahar record of raga Bhairav is a vivid example. In Ustad Enayat Khan we have a judicious combination of techniques of polished and crystal clear execution along with highly spiritual and saintly undercurrents.

Ustad Wahit Khan, the great Surbahar and Sitar player – brother of Ustad Enayat Khan had developed and perfected the technique of Surbahar playing. He had inherited great treasure of Khandani Talim. His technique of Sitar playing as we notice from his records, was simple and charming. It clearly reflects the rigorous riyaz that must gone into making him the versatile musician that he was.

With the entry of Ustad Vilayat Khan, at a very tender and young age of 8 or 9 years, it was evident that the world of music in India had grown richer. If we listen to his two records played with Ustad Enayat Khan on one side and he on the other, justifies our observation that even at a tender young age, Ustad Vilayat Khan had been fortunate in receiving very good talim from his father. The fact that at about the same age, he gave a performance in the Allahabad music conference with his father, speaks volumes for the young and talented Sitariya. Over the years, Ustad Vilayat Khan shifted his residence from Calcutta to Delhi, then to Nahan and then to Bombay. When we hear his Columbia records of 1940s we still notice Ustad Vilayat Khan’s playing substantially reflecting Ustad Enayat Khan’s style and the Sitar also similar to one used by Ustad Enayat Khan. It is after this stage that we find striking changes in his style. Enriched with the vocal music talim from his maternal grandfather Ustad Bande Hasan, Ustad Vilayat Khan introduced the gayaki ang on Sitar which added a new dimension to the Khayal ang based Sitar playing. At this stage, it would be useful to dwell on the theme of gayaki ang. Some critics claim that instrumental music essentially follows vocal music. So what is new in this gayaki ang? Let me clarify. Sitar is a plucking instrument. Every stroke produces a musical note which has a limited sound duration. On the other hand a bowing instrument like Sarangi has a longer and sustained duration of notes which could be monitored by the player. Ustad Vilayat Khan introduced a left hand technique through which the continuity of a note for a much longer duration was achieved. He used this asset to project a lyrical and continuous flow in his music, closely following vocal music. In addition, he introduced highly intricate and adherence to murki-s produced by the voice. All these resulted into a style with a lilt and lyric of it’s own, evolving a fluid and vocalised form of musical expression. Many rightly exclaimed that – ‘His Sitar virtually sings”.

And then of course, the famous tan-s of Ustad Vilayat Khan. In addition to the gat-toda, tar-paran-s and the techniques used in the earlier period, Ustad Vilayat Khan introduced many tan patterns of diverse ang-s. his vilambit and drut gat-s cover sapat tan-s, choot tan-s, gamak tan-s and tans of several other varieties. Apart from the type of tan-s the execution of each variety of tan-s follows patterns of great vocalists of different gharanas.

It is commonly acknowledged that, the introduction of Gayaki ang is a very important contribution of Ustad Vilayat Khan to the stylistic evolution of the Stiar.

We have so far covered his individual style of alap, jod, gat-s – both vilambit and drut and jahla so beautifully perfected by his great ancestors. The right hand techniques of Ustad Imdad Khan, Ustad Enayat Khan and Ustad Wahid Khan were further researched upon by Ustad Vilayat Khan and he introduced several varieties of diverse execution.

His is an illustrious family of musicians who are all followers of this enriched style. His brother Ustad Imrat Khan, his son Shujaat Khan and Ustad Imrat Khan’s sons, Nishad Khan and Irshad Khan and Ustad Wahid Khan’s grandson Shaheed Parvez are all torch bearers of the Vilayatkhani Gharana. In addition, there are several outstanding Sitar players amongst the ‘Shagirds’ of the gharana.

A word about the contribution of Ustad Vilayat Khanin the field of light classical music would be appropriate at this stage. His rendition of Thumri, Kajari, Barsati, Bhatiali, Dhun etc. are very well known and popular. His short pithy recitals of Tapa on Sitar are a marvel, which as Sitar players, all of us would acknowledge as a very difficult and exceptional achievement.

As a natural corollary to the individual style that Ustad Vilayat Khan created, the Sitar as an instrument had necessarily to undergo some basic changes. Let us enumerate the physical changes that he introduced.

His execution of intricate murki-s, gamak tan-s and five note meends required a much stronger base i.e., the ‘tabli’ – the ‘tabli’ had also to be strong enough to absorb the tremendous power of right hand stokes. The thin ‘tabli’ was replaced by a much thicker ‘tabli’ which could sustain the heavy pressure transmitted through the bridge.

The bridge had also to be changed for two reasons. Firstly, it had to be strong and of a quailyt that would suit the rounded or heavy sounding ‘jiwari’ that Ustad Vilayat Khan desired. The second changed effected in the bridge was to modify its height to increase the distance between the srings and the frets. It would be difficult to produce desired gamak-s and meend-s without such an arrangement.

It would be easily understood that the forceful execution through both the left and the right hand required an extra strong mechanism which joins the ‘dand’ with the main tumba. Metal screws and special techniques were designed for this purpose.

The tar-gahan or ‘aad’ had also necessarily to be thicker. It had to resist a much stronger pull of the strings Ustad Vilayat Khan modified the curvature of ‘targahan’ as well for special sound production.

Likewise the frets had also to be thicker for greater resistance. Brass frets was replaced by German Silver frets. The shape or the curve of the frets was also designed to enable proper, easy and accurate execution of the meends.

Equally important are the changes that Ustad Vilayat Khan made in the arrangements and the guage of the strings. The seven strings Sitar was converted into six strings Sitar. One jod string was removed with the view to have less vibrant jod sound enabling clearer and neater execution of the bol-s. He replaced the kharaj pancham string by a steel string which in my humble opinion is a revolutionary change having far reaching implications on the overall sound of the Sitar. The strings are tuned at a higher pitch than the earlier Sitar-s. C sharp pitch was considered to be most suitable keeping in view the size, the shape, the thickness of the table and the jiwari of this newly evolved Sitar. The result is so profound and striking that a mere ‘chedchad’ or strumming of such a Sitar is immediately recognised as a Vilayatkhani Sitar.

We have so far analysed the contributions made by Ustad Vilayat Khan both in the stylistic and physical evolution of the Sitar – no wonder that the impact of the resultant Vilayatkhani Baj is far-reaching and spectacular.

In my capacity as his humble student, I have endeavoured to outline special features of our style – our Gharana – on the basis of the talim, I have been fortunate in receiving from Ustad Vilayat Khan for the last fifty five years and more. As a part of our talim, we are also taught to respect other styles – other musicians. Hence in my presentation, if I have transgressed the limit of decorum or discretion, I may be excused.